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Vitamins and Medication

I'm 18 weeks pregnant and I don't like taking vitamins and medications even if I have headache because I'm afraid of side effects. My husband is worried that I'm not giving the baby enough nutrition or might be overreacting when it comes to taking medicines. Does anyone here have the same mindset?

In pregnancy, it is highly recommended to take the folic acid supplements particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. I would say that there is now so much evidence backing this up that there is little reason not to do so (in terms of the advantages for the prevention of neural tube problems).

The other main recommendation is to take vitamin D supplements (throughout your pregnancy and if you breastfeed).

If you have a normal, low-risk pregnancy then all other vitamins and nutritional requirements can be obtained by eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Which medication in particular were you thinking of in your post above?

That's interesting sunnymumof5 - thanks for sharing. So this author seems to advocate that pregnant women should take folate supplements rather than folic acid, but he still shares the viewpoint that enough folate is difficult to obtain from diet alone in pregnancy. I think more research needs to be done on this subject.

Please do post back with any further breastfeeding questions you may have. I'd also strongly recommend visiting your local breastfeeding peer support group when you are in the third trimester to help you to prepare for the wonderful breastfeeding journey ahead of you. It is normal for it to take a fair bit of time and support in the early days but so, so worth it.